Career Focus on… Applied Arts Introduction Career Options  Would you enjoy a career that combines digital technology and art? CRAFT ARTISTS  Do you use your creativity to communicate ideas visually? Median Annual Salary: $29,080 Recommended Education: Associate’s Degree  Do you have an eye for details and colors? www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm#earnings  Would you like to produce visual documents that help sell a product or define a DESKTOP PUBLISHERS company’s image? Median Annual Salary: $36,600 If you answered “yes” to these questions, you may want to consider a career in the Recommended Education: High School Applied Arts. Diploma www.bls.gov/oco/ocos276.htm#earnings Did You Know… ? GRAPHIC DESIGNERS  Web publishers, newspapers, magazines, ad agencies and manufacturers all use in- Median Annual Salary: $42,400 house or freelance design specialists in the promotion and sales of their products. Recommended Education: Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree  Over the next several years, demand for graphic designers will increase as www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm#earnings advertising firms create print and Web marketing and promotional materials for a growing number of products and services. ILLUSTRATORS Median Annual Salary: $42,650  Graphic designers held about 286,000 jobs in the U.S. in 2008. Recommended Education: Bachelor’s Degree  In 2008, about 60 percent of artists and related workers, and about 25% of www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm#earnings graphic designers, were self-employed. Many of these workers do freelance MULTIMEDIA ARTISTS & ANIMATORS projects on a full- or part-time basis. Median Annual Salary: $56,330 Recommended Education: Bachelor’s Degree QCC Alumni Success Story www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm#earnings Ms. Carolyn McGrath is a 2005 graduate of the Applied Arts Program at ART DIRECTORS Quinsigamond Community College. Carolyn continued on in her educational Median Annual Salary: $76,980 pursuits at Framingham State College where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recommended Education: Bachelor’s Degree Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design. She is currently a Graphic Arts www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm#earnings Teacher at Mountview Middle School and she is pursuing her graduate degree at ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS MANAGERS Fitchburg State College. Median Annual Salary: $80,220 Carolyn had previously worked as a nanny and a hairdresser, but decided that she Recommended Education: Bachelor’s Degree www.bls.gov/oco/ocos020.htm#earnings needed a job with health insurance and therefore it was necessary to get an education. Carolyn looked at the programs offered at QCC and because she had always loved art, SELF-EMPLOYED ARTISTS she decided to try the Applied Arts Program. Median Annual Salary: Varies Recommended Education: High School Carolyn states that her typical day as a teacher is the “best job I have ever had, Diploma, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree exhausting, but wonderful.” There is a lot of preparation and planning, so her day www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm#earnings starts long before the students enter the classroom and long after they leave. Despite Worcester Area Employers this, she finds the work rewarding and says that it’s “all worth it.” She truly enjoys the . Dartmouth Publishing feedback she gets from her students. Although they are only in middle school (7th- . Penta Communications 9th grade), they will tell her that they already know they want to go to college for . Hill Holiday Graphic Arts. She advises them to go to Quinsigamond Community College because . Carlson Communications it’s a great place to start. . Worcester Art Museum When asked if she had any words of wisdom for current QCC students, she . Preservation Worcester responded, “Keep going and get your bachelors degree… Follow your dreams and . Holden Landmark don’t let anything stop you.” . Saltus Press

Other Professionals in the Field Professional Associations National Association of Schools of Art and Design: Dani Nordin is the founder and principal designer of The Zen Kitchen. She has nasad.arts-accredit.org over 10 years of experience designing award-winning marketing materials and American Institute of Graphic Arts: www.aiga.org websites, and creating identity and packaging for small to large businesses and non- American Craft Council Library: profits. Her work has appeared in such publications as Rockport’s LogoLounge III www.craftcouncil.org and others, and she’s been quoted in articles in HOW Magazine and CNN Living. Society of Illustrators: www.societyillustrators.org To read more about Dani and her business, and to view samples of her work, see: Association of Medical Illustrators: www.ami.org www.tzk-design.com/team Art Directors Club: www.adcglobal.org Next Steps Positions Entered by Wondering if the field of Applied Arts is right for you? QCC Graduates  Take a Career Assessment to match your interests with potential careers: . Marketing Designer www.qcc.mass.edu/t3/ort/sites.html#careerassess . Graphic Designer  Research the web links on this page and more: . Production Artist www.qcc.mass.edu/t3/ort/sites.html#careerinfo . Pre-Press Specialist  Conduct an Informational Interview. Speak with a live person employed in this . Design Manager (w/ education after associate’s field: www.qcc.mass.edu/t3/ort/sites.html#infointerview degree) .  Attend a Career Planning Session: www.QCC.edu/images/capssession.pdf Web Designer (w/ education after associate’s degree)  Speak with an Advisor: www2.qcc.mass.edu/advising/adVCal/advCal/asp  Speak with QCC Faculty who teach Applied Arts courses. Looking for employment, Sources Used co-op, internship, or service learning opportunities? Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Contact the Career Placement Office: Handbook, 2010-11 Edition: www.QCC.edu/pages/Career_Placement.html  Graphic Designers, on the Internet: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm Possible Transfer Schools  Desktop Publishers, on the Internet: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos276.htm . Fitchburg State University  Multi-media Artists and Animators, on the Internet: . Savannah College of Art & Design www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm . UMass Dartmouth  Art Directors, on the Internet: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm . UMass Lowell  Illustrators, on the Internet: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm . Westfield State University Quinsigamond Community College, Applied Arts program: Looking for Specific Transfer www.qccportfolio.net/apa/pages/career.html Information? The Zen Kitchen, Meet the team: www.tzk-design.com/team/ . Start at the QCC Transfer web site: www.qcc.mass.edu/transfer . Make an appointment online with the Transfer Advisor: www.qcc.mass.edu/transfer/calendar . Email questions to: [email protected]

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